Ultrasound apparatus and methods of processing signals are described. The ultrasound apparatus may include multiple channels. In some embodiments, signal processing techniques are described, which in some embodiments are performed on a per-channel basis. The signal processing techniques may involve using down-conversion and filtering of signals on multiple channels. The down-conversion and filtering may be done prior to beamforming.

Improved acoustic tomography is provided using an array of transducer modules that surround the target, Each transducer module is a phased array of acoustic transducer elements that provides a steerable plane wave or steerable diverging wave excitation to the target. Tomographic reconstruction of the resulting data sets is substantially less computationally demanding than tomographic reconstruction of conventional acoustic tomography data sets, enabling image frame rates of 10 per second or better. This approach can be combined with dual modality imaging In cases where hardware limitations lead to undesirable gaps between the transducer modules, virtual receiver elements can be defined at locations between the transducer modules. By estimating signals that would be received at locations of the virtual receiver elements, the undesirable effects of these gaps can be reduced.

Ultrasound imaging system, devices, and methods for minimizing grating lobe artefacts in an ultrasound image are provided. For example, an ultrasound imaging system can include an array of acoustic elements and a processor in communication with the array. The processor controls the array to activate a plurality of apertures and subapertures in a scan sequence, generate an image comprising a plurality of pixels, identify at least one subaperture of the plurality of subapertures corresponding to a reduced signal value for one or more pixels of the image, and generate a grating-lobe-minimized image based on the identified subapertures. The grating-lobe-minimized image can be output to a display or combined with the original ultrasound image to include image features lost or reduced in the grating-lobe-minimized image. The grating-lobe-minimized image advantageously reduces image artefacts and clutter to simplify ultrasound image analysis and diagnosis procedures.

An ultrasound imaging system includes a processor circuit in communication with an ultrasound transducer configured to receive three-dimensional ultrasound data of an anatomy, and generate a target image corresponding to a target image plane of the anatomy, and a plurality of adjacent images corresponding to image planes adjacent to the target image plane along a simulated motion path. The processor circuit is further configured to display the target image, receive a user input representative of a direction of motion along the simulated motion path, and display an adjacent image of the plurality of adjacent images corresponding to the direction of motion. Accordingly, the user can observe the target image in its spatial context by scanning through the target image and one or more adjacent images on the display as if the ultrasound transducer were being scanned along the simulated motion path.

A system for deploying needles in tissue includes a controller and a visual display. A treatment probe has both a needle and tines deployable from the needle which may be advanced into the tissue. The treatment probe also has adjustable stops which control the deployed positions of both the needle and the tines. The adjustable stops are coupled to the controller so that the virtual treatment and safety boundaries resulting from the treatment can be presented on the visual display prior to actual deployment of the system.

An ultrasonic imaging apparatus includes a plurality of transducers that transmit ultrasonic waves and a transmission unit that supplies drive signals to the plurality of transducers. An amplitude control voltage generation unit and a transmission circuit unit are connected to a common voltage power supply. An amplitude control voltage generation unit receives an output voltage of the voltage power supply and an attenuation degree setting signal instructing an attenuation degree of the drive signal for each of the transducers for weighting of the drive signal, and generates an amplitude control voltage corresponding to a voltage obtained by attenuating the output voltage by the attenuation degree. The output voltage of the voltage power supply is reduced to a voltage corresponding to the amplitude control voltage, and a drive signal having a predetermined waveform is generated whose amplitude is the voltage after the reduction for each of the transducers.

A method for tissue characterization by ultrasound wave attenuation measurements is provided that comprises: a) transmitting at least an ultrasound pulse in a target body; b) receiving ultrasound pulses reflected by the target body and transforming the reflected ultrasound pulses into RF reception signals; c) extracting an envelope of the received RF signals; d) carrying out a logarithmic compression of the extracted envelope and e) computing a propagation depth dependent attenuation coefficient of the tissues crossed by the ultrasound pulse in the target body as the slope of the line fitting the logarithmic compressed envelope data along the penetration depth of the ultrasound pulse in the target body. The disclosure relates also to an ultrasound system for carrying out the method.

A reception beamformer 140 includes a delay-and-sum unit 142 that performs delay-and-sum processing with respect to reception signal sequences from multiple channels based on reflected ultrasound to calculate acoustic line signal line data. The delay-and-sum unit 142, in first reception beamforming processing, synthesizes the acoustic line signal line data calculated in the delay-and-sum processing by summing acoustic line signals associated with the observation points having the same positions, and, in the second reception beamforming processing, outputs the acoustic line signal data calculated in the delay-and-sum processing as is. Time taken by the delay-and-sum unit 142 to generate the acoustic line signal line data per set of acoustic line signal line data is equal or approximately equal in the first reception beamforming processing and the second reception beamforming processing.

A universal ultrasound device having an ultrasound probe includes a semiconductor die; a plurality of ultrasonic transducers integrated on the semiconductor die, the plurality of ultrasonic transducers configured to operate a first mode associated with a first frequency range and a second mode associated with a second frequency range, wherein the first frequency range is at least partially non-overlapping with the second frequency range; and control circuitry configured to: control the plurality of ultrasonic transducers to generate and/or detect ultrasound signals having frequencies in the first frequency range, in response to receiving an indication to operate the ultrasound probe in the first mode; and control the plurality of ultrasonic transducers to generate and/or detect ultrasound signals having frequencies in the second frequency range, in response to receiving an indication to operate the ultrasound probe in the second mode.

Techniques, systems, and devices are disclosed for synthetic aperture ultrasound imaging using a beamformer that incorporates a model of the object. In some aspects, a system includes an array of transducers to transmit and/or receive acoustic signals at an object that forms a synthetic aperture of the system with the object, an object beamformer unit to (i) beamform the object coherently as a function of position, orientation, and/or geometry of the transducers with respect to a model of the object, and (ii) produce a beamformed output signal including spatial information about the object derived from beamforming the acoustic echoes; a data processing unit to process data and produce an image of the object based on a rendition of the position, the orientation, the geometry, and/or the surface properties of the object, relative to the coordinate system of the array, as determined by the data processing unit.